New tires

coolgunguy

The boy had a blow out yesterday, do I'm in the shop on my day off... grrr...

Anyhow, I tell them I want two tires, with the fronts being rotated to the rear, and the new tires on the front.  The car is front drive (2005 Pontiac G6) and has antilock brakes.  The manager tried to get me to have the new tires installed on the rear, "because of fishtailing" if one of the older tires (now rotated to the back) blows out.  I politely said no thanks just do it like I asked...  as the mechanic was finishing up, he called me out into the shop to again push leaving the old tires on the front, and for the same reason.  I'll admit it's been a few years since I've turned a wrench professionally, but this was a new one that I haven't heard before... any thoughts on this?

wddodge

Yes, this is the current rage in the tire dealer circle. The theory is with the worse tires on the front, you will have a better chance of getting an understeer condition as the front tires will start sliding before the better tires on the rear. The experts say it is easier to get out of an understeer condition than an oversteer condition..

My position is that you shouldn't be driving fast enough to get into any kind of over/understeer condition.

Front drive vehicals wear the front tires much quicker than the rears. If you don't keep them rotated, the front tires will last about 2 years and the rear tires will still look like new.This keeps the tire dealers selling more tires.

Denny

earlyagain

Must be SOP.  I had the same thing. I just let them put the new ones where they wanted.

Got four new ones a couple years later. Car rides like new with all four the same. Rode a bit rough with the different ones front and back.

zorba

yea, I've heard the "new on back" being the latest craze as well. *shrug* - I might go along with that on a RWD car, the old MBZ breaks loose on the 1-2 upshift anytime there's *ANY* water on the road - that torquey diesel.

coolgunguy

I guess I was always a "blowouts are bad" kind of guy, irrespective of which corner or end the blowout happens on... I was a suspension/alignment tech for close to 20 of my 27 years working on cars for a living, so I'm no idiot when it comes to vehicle maintenance, but I had to wonder when I heard that.  Tech changes, and knowledge can always be updated... I wondered if I had missed something.  

Gila

This is something I don't understand.  On my truck I always replace all four tires at the same time, and my car has staggered wheels, so it's not possible to swap from front to back.  BTW, I buy all of my tires at a store that includes rotating the tires for life with the purchase of them.

mitdr774

I would prefer the better tires on the drive axle.  I dont let the tire shops touch my vehicle when I get tires done, so I put the tires where I want them.

ilove22s

i havent had a need for new tires since i got a new car.

but when i did get 2 new tires, i just did as you said.  Put the news on the front with a front wheel drive and the older ones on the back. 

my previous car i had bought used and the way it worked out was that there were 2 tires that had less tread life so i had to always replace 2 at a time for the 14 years i had that car.

I always took it back to the same shop for new tires and for rotation unless i did the rotation, but they never told me about the fishtailing issue.

 If they did recommend a different method, i would think it over and make a decision.

jbp-ohio

My snow tire purchase got moved back another month. With all the pig crap around here, I have to get a chlorination system for the well.....

coolgunguy

I had to chuckle, because they actually made me sign a paper stating that they told me I shouldn't do it that way, but that I made them do it anyhow.  🙄

earlyagain

The wings of goodyear are going to bounce you off the michilen man and right into the firestone!

Gene L

Wednesday, put 4 tires on my 05 Dodge Ram.  All four were worn out.  I always put tires on 4 at a time because I wear them out 4 at a time.  I have always bought them that way.  I debated selling my truck before I put the tires on rather than invest in a new truck but it's been a pretty good truck for the past 4 years I've owned it, got 150K miles and haven't given me much trouble...fuel sensor once.  Cost me $730.  I could probably have gotten another 5K miles on the truck, but I'm paranoid.  I don't drive much and don't drive far, but I like having good rubber on my vehicles.

As for changing front/rear, I have no idea.  But a friend of mine got new tires for his Airstream and said the tire place put them on wrong which caused it to fishtail.  He raised hell with the tire store but I don't know if he got any satisfaction.

What I don't like at all is the dual cab truck, or at least mine. Haven't tried the others. I have no idea where the front is when I park it, can't adjust to the parking strips, and parallel parking?  Forget. Like driving a bus.

earlyagain

Buy a used car and the tires aint always wore out 4 at a time.

Still 4 would have been better.

zorba

Son In Law finally got 2 new tires put on the back end of his Dakota - the old ones were balder than he is! $105 OTD each, not bad.

jbp-ohio

Worked a Saturday and 2x Sunday and ordered my snow tires........